Machine for cambering and tempering metal



May 22, 1923. 11,456,489

C. GIRL ET AL MACHINE FOR CAMBERING AND TEMPERING METAL Filed March 13. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet l May 22, 1923.

C. GIRL ET AL MACHINE FOR CAMBERING AND TEMPERlNG METAL Filed March 13. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 JAM d g. 1 M

flig'ysr .May 22, 1-923. 11,456,489

C. GIRL ET AL MACHINE FOR CAMBERING AND TEMPERING METAL Filed March 13; 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 May 22, 1923.

C. GIRL ET AL MACHINE FOR CAMBERING 'AND TEMPERING METAL Filed March 13. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 a z. I a [i g a/ziars Patented May 22, l923.

UNHTED STATE CHRISTIAN GIRL AND HERBERT S. JANDUS, OE KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN; SAID JANDUS Llddd PATENT @FFlE.

ASSIGNOE TO SAID GIRL.

NIACHINE FOR CAMBERING AND TEMPERING METAL.

Application filed March 13, 1922.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, (1) CHRISTIAN GIRL, (:2) Hnnnnn'r JnNoUs, citizens of the Unit-ed States, residing at Kalamazoo, in the rounty of Kalamazoo and State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful lm provement in lllachines for Cambering and Tempering Metal, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to machines for shaping and tempering metal and more particularly to machines which are designed for the cambering and tempering of spring plates.

As is well known, after the plates from which vehicle springs are formed, are shaped, they are tempered by being quenched, preferably by immersion in oil. It is the object of the present invention to provide a cambering machine, for shaping the spring plates or like articles, with improved means for performing the quenching or tempering op eration, such means including an oil (or other liquid-containing) tank which is associated with and which preferably encloses the lower part of the cambering machine and in which the oil may be raised and lowered in a convenient and effective manner, so that, when the level of the oil or other quenching liquid in said tank is raised, the spring plates will be immersed and quenched and, after the quenching operation, the oil level may be conveniently lowered to a level below that of said plates, permitting the plates to be re moved from the machine.

Various means may be utilized for raising and lowering the oil level in the tank, and these means may be controlled either manually, or automatically with the operation of the machine. In the present form of the invention, the operation of raising and lowering the oil level is effected by compressed air, which is alternately admitted to and exhausted from an oil chamber com-- municating with the quenching tank so that, when the air is admitted, the oil will be raised in the tank to quenching position, and, when exhausted, the oil will fall below the level of the plates in said tank.

Various forms of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one appara tus embodying our invention; Fig. 2 a sectional elevation of another form of such ap- Serial No. 543,489.

in Fig. 1, the cambering machine comprisesgenerally a pair of vertical guide frames 1 supporting a shaft 2 having a pair of eccentrics 2 thereon upon which are suspended, by arms 3, the upper cambering head or ram. The shaft 2 is driven by a pulley 4, the shaft 5 of which is mounted in brackets 5 supported by the guide frames 1, the said shaft being provided with a pinion 5 meshing with a gear 6 on the shaft 2. The upper head or ram 6 of the cambering machine is suspended from the arms 3 and cooperates,

with the lower fixed head or anvil 6 mounted in a tank, indicated generally at 7 The construction thus far described is common to all three forms of our invention;

hence corresponding numerals are applied to the foregoing parts in the various views. The lower head or anvil 6 is mounted in the tank 7 below the top thereof, the said tank having therein oil (or other quenching liquid) normally at a level below the top of the form or anvil 6 and below the level of plate S applied thereto. The tank 7 is connected by a pipe 8 to the lower end of a closed reserve oil tank 9, in which oil will be placed in sullicient quantity to maintain a normal oil level. in both tanks below the top of the anvil 6 The oil level in the cambering tank 7 may be raised by applying air pressure to the oil in the reserve tank 9. This is accomplished through a pipe 10 provided with a shut-off valve 11, the pipe leading to any suitable compressor (not shown). To release the air pressure in the oil tank, we provide a vent pipe 12 with a valve 13, and the two valves are connected by a link 14: provided with a handle 15, so that when one is opened the other is closed, and vice versa. A safety valve 16 may be set in the upper part of the tank to release at a predetermined pressure.

After the ram of the cambering machine is forced down upon the spring plate an attendant will open the valve 11 and close the valve 13 by means of the handle 15, and the pressure admitted into the tank 9 will raise the level of oil in the tank 7, to submerge and quench. the spring plate, after which the valves are reversed and the air is released, permitting the oil to drop to the original level, indicated at aa In the form shown in Fig. 2, the upper 5 ram of the cambering machine is indicated at 6, being identical with that employed in Fig. 1, the spring plate being indicated at S. In this form of our invention, both tanks are made in one; that is, the tank 7 en- 10 closing the cambering machine and the tank 9? containing a reserve supply of oil are formed as a unitary structure with a partition or septum 17 between the tanks and depending below the normal oil level, and

With a connecting opening 18 below or in the bottom of said partition and at the bottom of the tanks. The air line 10 is controlled by a valve 11, which may be a three-way valve discharging in one position to atmos- 20 phere. When the air pressure is admitted to 25. former level.

d only a single oil tank 20 is used, and the cambering machine stands in this tank. The variation. in the oil level in the tank is produced by air under pressure admitted to a .bell 21. This bell is open at the bottom and 3 closed atthe top and is located in the oil tank" at a sufficient depth to effect the desired operation. The bell is supplied with air through a pipe 22. Normally the oil level will bethe'same in both the tank and the bell, beneaththe plate 5, and, to raise the level of the oil in the tank, air under pressure is admitted to the bell.

The admission of the air under pressure may be automatically controlled in various ways. The way shown includes a three-way valve 23 in the air line, opening in one position to the atmosphere, and the stem of this valve is-provided with an arm 24 connected by a; link 25 to an arm 26 carried by the ram 6 ofthe cambering machine, the connection being such that, when the ram is lowered, air will be admitted to the bell and, when the ram is raised, the air will be exhausted to the atmosphere.

To limit. the amount of air admitted through the pipes to the bell 21 and thereby to control the oil level, an automatic float valve. isprovided, shown in detail in Fig. 5. This comprises a valve disk 27 mounted on a stem 28 connected to a float 29in the bell, the

disk closing against a seat 30 at the top of the bell andenclosed by a valve casing 31 connecting :the pipe to the top of the bell.

Normally the oil will be at a high level in the bell and the float will act to hold the 'to the atmosphere.

valve 27 open, the valve 23 venting the bell When air under pressure is let in, the oil level in the bell is lowered and the float will fall and the valve 27 will seat and close,thereby cutting off the flow, which might work injury as well as to prevent breaking the seal for the bell and the waste of compressed air. Vhen the ram is lifted and the air pressure is released, at the completion of the quenching operation, the venting of the pressure in the pipe 22 through the valve 23 and the connections 2426 causes the valve 27 to be opened by the superior pressure of the air in the tank operating upon the lower surface of the latter valve, whereupon the tank will be vented, the rising levelof the oil within the bell assisting, by its action on the float, the opening of the valve 27. As the oil rises in the bell, it lowers correspondingly in the tank 20 until the normal level is attained below the plate S. Obviously, by suitable construction or adjustment of the valves, the extreme height of the oil level may be determined in advance and controlled. The tank may be provided with a wire screen basket 32 for catching scale and other sediment.

For the purpose of varying the height to which the oil is permitted to rise in the main tank 20 or to drop in the auxiliary or bell tank2l, the valve 27 is made adjustable upon its stem 28. This may be readily effected by threading the upper portion of the valve stem, as indicated at. 28 and threading the valve disk 27 thereupon, securing the said valve disk in its adjusted position by means of a locknut 27 see Fig. 5.

It will be noted that, mall the forms described, the raising and lowering of the oil in the quenching tank is effected by air under pressure, controlled either manually or automatically, said air being admitted to a supplemental or auxiliary tank conm'iunicating with the quenching tank; and that, in one of the forms shown, the air is controlled automatically and means are provided for cutting off the air pressure when the liquid in the quenching tank reaches a predetermined high level. mechanisms may be produced for effecting the same results, and no limitation is imfplied by reason of the particular forms selected for illustration and description.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is:

1. The combination, with a oambering machine including forming elements, of a liquid-containing tank arranged to surround said elements, andmeans toraise the level of liquid in said tank, thereby to submerg nd q ench an art cle acted upon by said elements.

It is obvious that various 2. The combination, with a vertical cambering machine having forming elements at the lower part thereof, of a. liquid containing tank surrounding said lower part of the machine, and means to raise the liquid level in said tank, thereby to submerge and quench an article held between said elements.

3. In a quenching apparatus, the combination of a tank containin a uenchin li uid and means to apply pressure to said liquid to raise the level thereof and thereby submerge and quench an article held in said tank.

4. The combination, with a cambering machine, of a liquid-containing tank in which said machine is supported, and means to raise the liquid level in said tank, thereby to submerge and quench an article held in said machine.

5. The combination, with a cambering machine, of a. liquid containing tank in which said machine is supported, and means, automatically controlled by said machine, to raiseand lower the liquid level in said tank.

6. In a quenching apparatus, the combination of a tank containing a quenching liquid, and means to displace a portion of the liquid and thereby raise the level thereof, to submerge and quench an article held in said tank.

7 In a quenching apparatus, the combination of a tank containing a quenching liquid, and means to displace by a fluid a portion of the liquid and thereby raise the level thereof, to submerge and quench an article held in said tank.

8. In a quenching apparatus, the combination of an open top tank containing a quenching liquid, a closed-top tank communicating therewith below the liquid level, and means to apply fluid pressure to the liquid in the closed-top tank and thereby raise the level of the liquid in the open-top tank, to submerge and quench an article held therein.

9. In a quenching apparatus, the combination of a main open tank and an auxiliary closed tank, said tanks containing liquid and communicating with each other near their lower ends, and means toapply fluid pressure to the liquid in the closed tank and thereby raise the level of the liquid in the open tank, to submerge and quench an article held therein.

10. The combination, with a cambering machine, of an open liquid containing tank in which the machine is supported, a closed liquid containing tank adjacent the open tank and communicating therewith below the liquid level, and means to apply air pressure to the liquid in the closed tank, thereby to raise the level of the liquid in the open tank and thereby submerge and quench an article held in the said machine.

11, The combination with a camberillg machine, of a liquid containing tank in which the machine is supported, an air vessel communicating with the tank below the liquid level therein, and means automatically controlled by the movement of the ca-mbering machine to alternately admit air to and exhaust the same from the said vessel, thereby to raise and lower the level of liquid in the said tank.

12. The combination, with a *cambering machine, of a liquid containing tank in which the machine is supported, an air vessel "communicating with the tank below the liquid level therein, and means automatically controlled by the movement of the cambering machine to alternately admit air to and exhaust the same from the air vessel and the'reby raise and lower the level of liquid in the said tank, said means comprising a valve connected to a moving part of the cambering machine and controlling the air connection to said vessel.

13. The combination, with a cambering machine having forming elements, of a liquid containing tank surrounding the said forming elements, means to apply air under pressure to the liquid to raise the level thereof, and means to automatically cut off the supply of air under pressure when the liquid in the tank rises to a predetermined level.

14. The combination, with a cambering machine having forming elements, of a liquid containing tank surrounding the said forming elements, means to supply air under pressure to the liquid to raise the level thereof, and means to automatically cut'ofi the supply of air when the liquid in the said tank rises to a predetermined level, said means including a float valve in the tank and controlling the air supply inlet.

15. The combination, with a cambering machine, of a liquid containing tank in which the machine is mounted, an air bell in the tank, means to supply air under pressure to said bell, whereby to displace liquid therein and raise the level of the liquid in the tank, and a float valve mounted in the bell and adapted to automatically cut off the air supply when the liquid in the bell falls to a predetermined level.

16. The combination, with a cambering machine, of a liquid containing tank in which the machine is mounted, an air vessel communicating at its lower end with the liquid in said tank, an air supply pipe connected to the upper end of the vessel, a controlling valve in said pipe, a connection between said valve and a moving part of the machine for automatically controlling the supply of air to said vessel and the release of air therefrom, and a float valve operated by the liquid in the tank and adapted to cut off the air supply when said liquid reaches a predetermined level, i

17. In a quenching apparatus, in combination, a liquid-containing tank, an air vessel communicating with said tank below the liquid level therein, means to control the supply of air under pressure to said vessel, thereby to raise or lower the liquid level in the tank, and means controlled by the level of the liquid in the tank to admit and cut off the supply of air to said vessel.

18. In a quenching apparatus, in combination, a liquid-containing tank, an air bell in the liquid in said tank, a valved air pipe connected to said bell, and a float valve in the bell controlling the supply of air to the bell according to the level of the liquid therein. I 1

- 19. In a quenching apparatus, the combination of a tank containing a quenching liquid, and pneumatic means for displacing a portion of the liquid in. the tank and thereby raising the level thereof, to submerge and quenchan article held in said tank above the normal liquid level therein. 20. In a quenching apparatus, the combination of a tank containing a quenching liquid, and pneumatic means for forcing additional liquid into the bottom of said tank, thereby to raise the liquid level therein.

21. In a quenching apparatus, in'combination, a liquid-containing tank, an air vessel communicating with said tank below the level of liquid therein, means for controlling the supply of air under pressure to said vessel, thereby to raise or lower the liquid level in the tank, and adjustable means controlled by the level of the liquid in the tank to admit and cut off the supply of air to said vessel.

22. In a quenching apparatus, in combination, a liquid-containing tank, an air vessel communicating with said tank below the liquid level therein, a valved air pipe connected to said vessel, a float in said vessel, and a valve adjustably connected with said float and serving to control the supply of air to the said vessel in accordance with the level of the liquid therein.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto aifix our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN GIRL; HERBERT s. JANDUS.

Witnesses:

J. E. SALOER, N. Y. KRISTENSEN. 

